The Week That Was, October 24th – October 30th 2016
Politics/Economy
Border control and tax relief remained the dominant issues in negotiations surrounding the government’s 2025 plan that got underway again this week – the Liberal Alliance (LA) won’t accept the Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) demand for long-term, or even permanent, border control unless there’s agreement on tax cuts for high earners. A new poll indicated the government and Liberal Alliance (LA) are out of step with voters on the tricky issue of tax cuts.
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) slipped to 15.9% in a new poll, its lowest level of support since 2013 and six points down on last year’s election result – the ruling Liberals, at 17.8% are now the biggest party on the right but the opposition would regain power with a 51.2%/48.8% majority if an election was held today. The EU fraud affair has seriously damaged Danish People’s Party (DPP) leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl’s previously untarnished reputation.
A new study by the Economic Council of the Labour Movement (AE) warned that consumers’ reluctance to spend coupled with weak global demand could reduce Danish growth to less than 1% in 2017, the same as during the post-financial crisis years – consumer confidence worsened for the second straight month in October to the weakest level in forty months.
Alternative Party leader Uffe Elbæk was banned from Facebook after posting two nude images on his page.
Foreign Affairs/EU
Marjory van den Broeke, Head of Press Unit at European Parliament, said the Danish People’s Party won’t be allowed to repay money to the EU until there’s been a full investigation into all allegations of a misappropriation of funds from MELD (Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy). At the same time, two centre-right parties agreed to pay back funding they received from the state-run Europe Committee to spread information about the EU – the Liberal Alliance will refund a DKK60,000 grant while the Conservatives will refund DKK27,000.
The EU granted Denmark permission to extend border control for a further three months.
For the second week in a row, Danish fighter planes were part of the international coalition’s offensive against the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul, Iraq – F-16s flew 12 missions against targets in Syria and Iraq. dropping 10 precision bombs.
Defence Minister Peter Christiansen said dire warnings of a change in the balance of power in the Baltic Sea are exaggerated, after two Russian warships carrying long-distance missiles sailed through the Great Belt strait between Zeeland and Funen, Tuesday evening – the Social Democrats’ defence spokesman, Henrik Dam Kristensen, said Russian provocation in the Baltic region needs to be combated by a mixture of diplomacy and military strength.
A nearly unanimous parliament, with the exception of the Danish People’s Parry (DPP), passed a resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on his population with Iranian and Russian support.
Copenhagen was chosen as the headquarters for a Museum for the United Nations – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the new, global museum ‘will engage audiences on the work and values of the United Nations through online and other exhibits in locations around the world.’
Politicians expressed reluctance to support the Swedish government’s call for an EU ban on petrol and diesel-driven cars by 2030.
An anti-Donald Trump advert plastered on a Copenhagen bus went viral on Facebook and Instagram.
Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen welcomed Belgium’s compromise on the CETA free trade agreement between the EU and Canada.
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Social Affairs
The government acknowledged its cutbacks in child benefits are aimed directly at large immigrant families – Tax Minister Karsten Lauritzen said the government is aware its proposed cuts in the quarterly ‘child cheque’ will have a negative effect on a family’s finances.
Only 50 refugees applied for asylum in Denmark last week, bringing the total for the year so far to 5,500, far fewer than the government’s projection in January.
Criminality in Denmark dropped to a new record-low in 2015 – 14% of the population between the age of 16 and 74 suffered from an act of theft, violence or vandalism, compared to 25% twenty years ago.
The latest Global Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum showed that while Scandinavian countries remain the most gender-equal countries, with Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden taking the top four positions, Denmark has slipped to 19th out of 144 countries, from 14th last year.
Opposition leader Mette Frederiksen said men who visit prostitutes should be excluded from working in certain jobs, such as teacher, politician, judge, or police officer.
A Russian blogger claimed that despite surveys ranking Denmark as the world’s happiest nation, in reality it’s a terrible place to live – kids have lice, drink rainwater from puddles, and people eat carrots from paper bags.
Business
For the sixth year in a row Denmark was ranked number one on the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’ – Copenhagen Capacity, the capital’s official organisation for investment, promotion and business development, said Denmark offers one of the world’s most dynamic and attractive business environments.
New National Bank figures showed an increase in international investment in Denmark for the second year in a row.
Credit card payment services company, NETS, advised Danish banks to block up to 100,000 credit cards on suspicion their security might have been compromised by hackers.
A number of Danish supermarkets removed South African wines off their shelves following the screening of a documentary that exposed working conditions on farms in the country.
EU politicians will stop shipping companies such as Maersk from dumping old ships on beaches in South East Asia that don’t live up to strict environmental and recycling requirements. Maersk Drilling announced plans to fire 70 people at its Copenhagen headquarters in response to the continued market decline and reduced activity level in the oil industry.